Travelling requires careful planning. To make sure you can enjoy your holiday to the full, you need to give plenty of thought to your preparations before setting off. The same is true of your finances. To prevent your excitement about visiting a new city or beach from turning to financial frustration, we have put together a few tips on how you can save money while on the road – and give yourself some extra funds for living the high life while you’re there.
Tip No 1. Plan your finances before you travel
Your financial situation is like a good playlist – the more thought you put into it, the more fun you get out of it. If you are sitting on the plane or train and suddenly realise that you haven’t prepared for your trip finances, then it’s already too late to do much about it. After all, if you arrive in your dream destination and discover that there is no WiFi or 4G and you have no access to your online banking, then all you will have to fall back on are the remaining funds (hopefully) available on your account. Even if you can connect straight away, it takes at least a day to complete any bank transfers. That’s why, if you want to save money on holiday, you should plan your finances in advance, just like packing a bag or compiling a playlist for the journey. If you want to enjoy a delicious cappuccino when you arrive at your holiday paradise, you can simply pull out your Yuh Card and you’re good to go. That’s because, while you were still at home, you: a) moved enough money into your Yuh account, and b) made sure it was available in the right currency, thus avoiding exchange fees.
Money-saving tip for travel pros: If you want to enjoy a welcome drink in a country that doesn’t have the most stable financial system, it’s always worth taking a bit of cash in EUR or USD with you. For example, when travelling in a faraway land you have to pay visa fees in cash and in dollars, restaurants and shops in Buenos Aires only accept dollars rather than pesos due to the unstable economic situation and in Indonesia the ATM machines are empty.
Tip No 2. Use local currency
Save money, leave your Swiss francs in Switzerland. Generally speaking, it’s always better to pay in the local currency. This question will come up time and time again among your friends, and now you know how to answer it. If you’re drinking a cappuccino in Rome, you’re better off paying in euros. The same applies if you’re shopping and need to choose between CHF and EUR at the checkout – always select EUR! This is because the local business or restaurant will use a local bank to process the transfer of funds. These banks often charge high fees, particularly for foreign currencies and tourists like you.
Tip No 3. Leave cash in the ATM
To save money on vacations, your best bet is to take some cash in the local currency with you on your trip. You can use your card almost everywhere to pay for the rest. This is generally safer too, as it means nobody can trick you by not giving you enough change, you don’t have to look for a working ATM for hours on end or, worse still, face the horror of having your card swallowed by the ATM once you find it. Anyway, your card looks much cooler and could help you to leave a lasting impression…
Sometimes it can’t be helped and you need cash there and then. As in, right now. But be careful: The more tourists there are in a particular location, the greater the chances that you could end up at an ATM that will take much more money out of your account than you could ever imagine. When travelling abroad, be wary of most ATMs – like the yellow-and-blue Euronet ATMs, for example. If you don’t have any other options, make sure to select “refuse conversion” when taking money out. This is the only way to ensure that you’ll get the conversion rates at the terms offered by your home bank. It’s not unusual for shady ATMs to charge hefty fees of up to 35%, meaning you’ll need to pony up an additional 35 EUR when you take out 100 EUR. Ouch! But even if you only use trustworthy ATMs (from major banks), it’s still a good idea to keep an eye on the fees (always read the fine print!). After all, if you have to pay Yuh’s fee of 4.90 CHF for foreign withdrawals plus a local ATM fee, it could cost you a pretty penny by the end of your trip. Plus, make sure to stay away from any scammers who approach you on the beach offering to convert your cash, and always be sceptical of exchange bureaus at tourist hotspots.
Tip No 4. A new PIN in no time
If the welcome drinks are so good that they make you forget your PIN, it’s quick and easy to change it. You can do this directly in the app without having to contact us or remember your old PIN. All you need is your Yuh Key, and access to an ATM to confirm your new PIN. In most cases, you can also pay by chip and PIN at a terminal and confirm your PIN that way.
Tip No 5. Manage the exchange rate with your Yuh account
Only trust your own exchange rate? No problem. If you think the exchange rate will improve and make your cappuccino cheaper, simply go to Pay > Exchange and tap on “Target exchange”. Set the rate you want and set the validity period for some point in the future.
Tip No 6. Shop and win with Swissqoins
We doubt you do, but if you need another reason to use your card, then how about this: we give you two Swissqoins for every card transaction you make, whether you’re at home or abroad. You can keep these or convert them to money at any time if you want to embark on a pre-holiday shopping spree…